


Again this is just another random bit of writing that will make no sense.

by Skywolf1314



Category: orignal work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 06:52:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18244628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skywolf1314/pseuds/Skywolf1314





	Again this is just another random bit of writing that will make no sense.

**Chapter Ten.**

**Ares gripped his head as they shimmied down the dune and over to the church.** Hawk guessed that meant they were going to check it out and stuck close to his heel.  The church was crooked and worn, the spire leaned on its side as though years of wind had withered it and the colourful stained-glass windows had dulled so that they were more of a suggestion of colour than the colour itself. The white paint that had probably been lovingly lathered on the wooden walls was pealing, pulling away from its abandoned home like a scab over a wound.

Hawk petted the cat, something about the church left him with a bitter sense of loneliness that festered under his skin. He wondered as he looked up at the surprisingly intact figure of a winged god, how it had gotten into such a shape in the first place.

“This place is heavily warded,” Ares grumbled. “Whoever made it didn’t want my kind in there.”

“Isn’t this sacred ground? Can’t gods walk over it?” He commented as Ares squeezed his eyes together.

“I’m not exactly the favourite amongst my people, too much bad blood tarnishes my family. That and the humans don’t fear me as much as they used to, most don’t even know I exist anymore.” He frowned and looked up at the god statue. “That there is lord Corvus, one of the first creation Gods,” He shuddered “I’m worried its him Sebastian wants to raise. That wouldn’t be good for any of us…”

Ares seemed to have paled considerably but before Hawk could ask the reasoning for his fear, he had already started walking over to the large, rotten, wooden, doors. Hawk watched him for a moment before looking up at the God statue. Unlike all the other statues of Corvus he had seen over the years this one didn’t depict him as anything holy. This showed him to be an awful twisted being with large black wings, torn and twisted by the various swords and chains wrapped around them. Monstrous claws gripped the wooden pole he was perched on, the grooves in the wood made it look as though his claws had scraped deep scars into it. Unlike the other statues…it had three eyes. One either side of it head like normal and another in the centre of the bird creatures head.

He swallowed tight and stepped back.

He didn’t want to look at it anymore.

Ever.

“I’ve found a cellar.” A voice whispered behind him causing Hawk to jump. Even the cat hadn’t been prepared for the newcomer and got so frightened it fell from Hawk’s neck.

“BY THE GODS!” He shouted pinching the bridge of his nose “Please for the love of everything, stop creeping up on me!”

Omar flinched and stepped away from him, fear blooming in his large, child-like eyes.

“I’m sorry Hawk…” He murmured only slightly louder than the wind.

Hawk rubbed a hand down his face and sighed regretfully.

“No I’m sorry I shouldn’t have snapped, this place…It’s just unnerving.” He reached down and picked the cat up by the scruff, not trusting it in the strangeness of this place. It wiggled for a moment then stilled, its eyes trained on Omar.

Omar twitched and chewed his lip. His eyes lingered on the floor.

“You mentioned a cellar?” He sighed.

The boy nodded nervously and started walking, Hawk followed, ignoring the creaks and groans coming from the wooden structure. A cellar? The last time he had been in a cellar was when his father had locked him in their own. He had stuck him down there to try and cure his fear of the dark.

_“A boy of six shouldn’t be afraid of the dark. There isn’t a monster under your bed, theres nothing in the wardrobe. Stop being so childish.”_

Atticus had held the door shut even after his father had allowed him to leave. He could remember how vividly wild his mother’s eyes had been when she had embraced him for the first time in years. They were like storm clouds a glow with lightning.

The idea of a cellar made his stomach unsettle and his throat dry.

They walked around the back of the church and over to a small wooden box built out from the ground, a small door covered the front of it. It seemed to be in just as bad condition as the rest of the church and even the lock on the cellar door had been broken.

“Have you tried opening it?” He asked Omar just as Ares rounded the corner.

“No…I didn’t want to be on my own when I did…just in case.” Hawk couldn’t fault his logic. Small dark spaces were not the best.

“Open it,” Ares moaned, clutching his head. “Hurry up! I don’t think I can stay here for much longer.”

Hawk nodded and swallowed tight, shifting the cat into one arm and looking at Omar. Omar flinched but gave him a small encouraging smile. With a deep breath Hawk grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open with more force than he needed.

“AH! It stinks of decay!” Ares growled using his free hand to cover his nose, he backed away from the dark hole.  Hawk couldn’t smell anything, though he wasn’t sure if that was down to him being so scared his senses had stopped working or if there genuinely wasn’t any scent. The cellar was dark and the sunlight only travelled so far that they could make out the top three stairs that lead down deep under the church.  He had a feeling of complete wrongness cover him, chilling him far worse than the wicked wind could.

“What do we do Ares?” Hawk asked knowing full well that they would end up down the cellar.

“I don’t know.” He growled still covering his nose. He reached over to his ear and pushed the button on the small device causing static to buzz in Hawks ear.

“Dawn, we have made contact with the area, its heavily warded but we have a way in…should we return or continue?”

The line was silent for a moment before Dawns cheerful voice rang through in stuttering fragments.

“I…Visual...Proceed.”

Ares frowned and tapped his ear twice, the line frazzled and cracked before going silent.

“Perfect,” Ares growled. “We’ll go in but not deep, just enough to report back, the higher ups can deal with it.”

Hawk couldn’t say that he was particularly thrilled with the idea of going down there but he also couldn’t shake the undeniable curiosity that pried his eyes open with its claws.

“I’m not going first.” He frowned.

Ares narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, a growl rumbling in his throat.

“You are, I’ll follow you.”

Hawk huffed and pulled the cat close.

“Are you afraid? You’re the god of Death, you know killing things is your job.”

Ares’ ears twitched and his nose creased, his shadows slipping over his shoulders and brushing over the ground.

“I’m ‘a _’_ death god, not ‘the’ god of death and just because I can bring death doesn’t mean I’m immune to it.” Ares snapped just as one of his shadows brushed over Hawks arm.  “Either go with your free will or I will kick you down there, my head is killing me enough to be reckless.” 

“Charming…” Hawk said and with a reluctant sign he climbed over the doorframe and began descending the stairs.

“If we see anything that appears even a tiny bit strange, we leave.”

Just as Ares stepped down onto the staircase, a loud caw echoed from deep within the tunnel followed by the rapid sound of flapping wings. Hawk barely had time to duck before a large black bird came flying out of the darkness, its long taloned feet skimming the top of his head on its way out of the cellar.

Hawk stared dumbfounded at the space the bird had occupied before his gaze slowly slid to Ares. The god seemed quite shaken as well, his eyes wide and pupils blown. His shadows were wrapped tightly across his shoulders. He let out a breath and looked down at Hawk and uneasy smile tugging at his lips.

“Let’s move, I want to be free of this place before anything else happens.”

***

The stairs went down and down, twisting deeper and deeper until they were walking in complete darkness. Hawk’s hands were pressed to the wall, fingers sliding against the damp stone as he walked ever further down the stairs. He was beginning to wonder if they’d end up in the underworld, that the church was simply a gateway to it. Of course Hawk knew how ridiculous that was since he was fairly sure none of them had died.

Maybe.

The lingering whispers that haunted the stairway, that danced along the icy breeze, were enough to have his limbs shaking. His mind betrayed him too, making up all sorts of horrendous things that could be lingering in the dark of the church, just waiting for them to unknowingly step into their trap. The cat certainly wasn’t helping matters either. It struggled and hissed in his hold like it could see something that Hawk couldn’t and that made his fear even more potent.

“Ugh the warding is strong down here,” Ares groaned his footsteps halting on the stair above him. “Something old lives in the depths, it calls to me.”

“Any idea what-Ahhhh!” Hawk yelled just as his foot faltered off the step. Ares grabbed his collar quickly, lifting him back onto the step.

“Don’t make a habit out of this.”  Ares whispered, shoving him gently against the wall as he passed silently.

Hawk watched after him for a moment before he pulled himself from the wall. He dusted off his clothes, hoping that no insects had climbed onto him before following the god once again.

The stairs became flatter the further down they walked until Hawk wasn’t sure they were even walking on steps anymore. Even the air seemed to be flatter, like it barely breathable and heavy.

“This is ridiculous,” Ares snarled, Hawk almost crashed into him with the suddenness of his halt. “I can barely see a damn thing.”

“I can see fine,” Omar’s voice carried over the damp dripping sound of the tunnel. “There’s a spider in Hawks hair.”

Hawk shook his head vigorously, shivering as he did so. He could only imagine the sort of hideous spiders that lived the Vail. With spindly legs and sharp fangs and a vibrant colouration that screamed, ‘I’m toxic. Back off or feel my venom!’

“Is it gone?” He whispered; his shoulders drawn with tension.

“I can’t see anything…” Omar assured with a pat of Hawks wrist.

“We need a light source,” Ares hummed, stomping past Hawk.

There was a ruffle of a bag and then silence.

“Um…” Hawk started.

“OMAR! Did you not think to tell me about the torches you had in your pack?” Ares roared.

“Oh, I didn’t think you wanted them…I thought on it a little as we came down here but I then thought you wanted to be stealthy.” He nervously answered.

“Do you even have a brain in there?” Ares bit, striking a match against the wall and filling the small space with a warm orange glow. “Don’t answer that.” He brought the match to a thin bit of wood with a patch of cloth on the end and lit it.

The torch revealed that they were standing in the middle of a small cave, stalactites hung from the ceiling, dripping drops of murky liquid onto the ground. Mushrooms grew in the cracks of the cave walls and horrible little beetles scuttled around the shell covered floor.  It was so cold in the cave that Hawk could see his breath. And the smell was…he couldn’t quite explain it, sulphury? He couldn’t put a name to it but it certainly made both he and the cat wince.

“This place stinks of death.” Ares muttered and pushed forward. The flame of his torch wavered as he moved, it looked as though it were trying to lean away from him.

Hawk followed the god closely; the light was the only solace he had in such a dank place. Ares threw out his shadows, shaking them from his back like they were misty wings. He watched as they unravelled from the tattoos along his neck and twisted from the ones on his fingers. They slithered into the cave like ghostly serpents, filling every nook and cranny, Hawk could feel them against his cheeks, along his fingers.

“Have you ever come across a place like this before?” Hawk asked, stroking the cats head reassuringly.

“It’s been a while since I travelled.  I try to stay away from anything made for the gods.” His ear flickered and a few of his shadows returned to him, stroking up against his cheek and rolling behind his ears.

“There’s a stairway up ahead,” He ran a hand through his hair and winced. “I can feel something powerful but I can’t place it, I think it’s moving-”

Ares paused and whirled his head around. Hawk followed him and his eyes fell on Omar who was touching one of the stalactites.

“-Don’t be stupid!” 

Omar flinched and looked at them apologetically.

“I’m sorry Ares…” He looked down and Ares huffed, muttering something about brainless humans.

Hawk watched Ares stalk away before noticing something laying just off to the side of the cave. As he approached, he could see a powdery white substance that gave the resemblance of bone. It crumbled as he reached out to take the small snag of yellow fabric that still clung to whatever the powder was. The fabric was torn and blood stained and as Hawk got a better look at the scene, he saw that there were little pools of congealed blood spotted across the cave floor.

“What in all the vail… Ares!” He called wanting a second opinion on the matter.

“What now?” Ares snarled back. Hawk felt his shadows before he saw the god.

“Take a look at this.”

“That’s fresh,” he commented, knocking Hawk out the way and moving over to the blood. He dipped his long, slender fingers into it and brought them to his nose. He sniffed once before his nose twisted with disgust and he spat “Ace.”

“There has to be more of them down here then…” Hawk frowned “What about the bone?”

“It’s not bone,” Ares crouched beside it. “At least not anymore…Sand snakes probably got him and we should get going before it comes back.”

Hawk stood up quickly, his hand brushing the bone he had slotted though his belt.

“They scare you don’t they.” Hawk smirked as Ares brushed past him.

“If you saw one you would be scared. Most of them stand about ten foot tall and are just a wide. They’re silent when they move so you never see them coming. If you do manage to escape them you won’t get far because they’re ridiculously venomous. I saw a human get bit by one once and it was the most horrific death I had ever seen.” Ares shuddered and his shadows quickly wrapped themselves around his body.

“But you’re a god surely they wouldn’t be able to kill you?” Hawk pushed chasing him up the stairs.

“No, it wouldn’t kill me but it would hurt. A lot, and I don’t really care for pain.” He turned to glare at Hawk, “stop pestering me. You’re getting on my nerves, Pup.”

“It’s Hawk.” Hawk frowned he couldn’t understand why everyone at Pandora gave him a nickname.

Ares huffed again and strode up the stairs quickly, Hawk narrowed his eyes at him but followed at his heel. Omar brought up the rear, his footsteps almost a silent echo of Hawks. The cat has re-emerged and had taken watching over his shoulder, his eyes trained on the boy behind them and no amount of tugging on Hawk’s behalf could dislodge the feline. 

The stairs didn’t go up for long and soon they found themselves walking down a very narrow and very damp corridor. Water dripped from the ceiling, it smelled stale and old.  At one-point Ares had to shimmy along the walls sideways, his shoulders too large to be able to squeeze though the ever-constricting gap. Damp clung to their clothes and the smell of something not quite sulphur lingered in the air.

The narrow wall finally gave out to a small opening. Ares stopped him before he went through however, pointing to the small carvings that surrounded the circular entrance. They were spiralled and curved and were almost the same as the writings that they had found at Crowley’s.

“It’s a warning,” Ares said, his fingers tracing the lines. “In Valkarian.” He muttered something else but Hawk couldn’t make it out.

“What exactly is it? I saw it at Crowley’s.” He asked but Ares didn’t answer.

“It’s the language of the gods,” Omar whispered beside him. “Named after the first creation god Valek.”

“Shut up, both of you.” Ares snarled and Hawk took a close look at the opening.

It seemed to lead into another cave, only this one was vastly larger than the first. It had large grey stone walls that were smooth and marbled. Golden sand covered the floor and for some reason it was bright in there, like sunlight was somehow capable of reaching it.

He didn’t like it.

 The sand was deep and ominous and he could imagine himself being dragged into it by a giant and angry serpent. 

“All it says is that there’s something evil down here. That if we enter it’s at our own risk…” Ares let out a breathy laugh and shook his head “Some warning.”

“Do we go or do we head back?” Hawk asked.

“Since we came all this way…I’d feel stupid returning to Zira without anything.” Ares sighed and Hawk, with a nod, stepped through the opening.

The temperature was immensely different in the cave than it had been in the tunnel. It was warm, like the sun had been on it for the afternoon. Hawk crouched, grasping some of the grains between his fingers, they glistened.

“Gold?” He murmured to himself before looking around. The light that was filling the room was coming from somewhere ahead of him, it was bright and flickering.

Omar stepped into the hole behind him and gasped as his feet sank into the shimmering sand.

“Weird right?” Hawk said over his shoulder, ignoring the growl of complaint the cat made.

“It’s warm.” Omar smiled.

Ares stepped in next only as he went to put his foot down a wall of shimmering blue light flared out from the sand, engulfing the god’s appendage. Ares reared back with a startled howl, shaking his body quickly as he tried to douse the flames.

“What’s going on!” Hawk cried, placing the cat on the ground before rushing over to the still burning flames.

“Get away from it Hawk!” Ares shouted and Hawk felt someone grab his arm. He turned quickly to see Omar pulling him away, his eyes wide as he regarded the blaze. 

“Shit.” Ares growled rubbing his leg, his shadows recoiling from the flames. “I should have known.”

“What is it?” Hawk asked again noticing the angry red skin on the gods leg.

“Fucking Gods fire.” Ares spat. “It comes from the Fire God Cali, and it’s probably one of the only things that could kill me.”

He bared his fangs at the flames before looking down at Hawk.

“I can’t pass it and you won’t be able to either. Once it’s lit there’s no putting it out…you’re going to have to go the rest of the way on your own. I’m going to head back up to the surface, see if I can get to you thought the church.” He looked at Omar. “Hawk is in charge, do not leave his side because if I find out you left him, you will be dead before your time. Got it, Pest?”

Omar flinched but nodded, his grip tightening on Hawks arm.

**Chapter Eleven.**

**Hawk wasn’t panicking, he wasn’t staring at the god as he limped up the stairs, dripping golden blood along the stone.** No he was fine he was in control he was completely fine. He took a deep breath as he tried to convince himself that everything was okay, he did not think about the terror that was creeping back into him in the absence of the god. No he was fine.

Completely.

Hawk looked at Omar, the glow from the blue fire turned his face…different. Strange even, like something was lingering under his skin and it was only awakened in the pale blue glow.  He was watching the flames intently and whether he knew it or not he had the creepiest smile stretched across his face.  Maybe it was his newfound terror that made him so nervous of his companion, after all Ares had kept some sort of conversation going, even if half of it was him insulting him. Omar on the other hand wasn’t someone Hawk struck as capable of forming more than a sentence. Not that that was a problem, it was more of a ‘please talk to me before I get consumed by my own fear’ type thing.

“Erm, uh…we should try and find a way out.” Hawk suggested, awkwardly fumbling over his words.

Omar’s eyes left the fire and locked with his own and for the slightest of seconds Hawk thought he saw his pupils dilate into slits.

“Yeah, do you think we should check out the light?” He whispered in the way he always did.

Hawk continued to look at his eyes for a moment longer. They were normal, wide and curious and different coloured.

Normal.

His paranoia was eating at him, how long would it be before he snapped at the poor boy just because he looked at him wrong?

“Hawk?”

“Sorry Omar, I was distracted. Yeah.” He shook his head. Omar was doing nothing wrong and Hawk was being stupid about it. “We don’t have much of a choice.”

The sand clung to his legs as he walked, spilling into his boots and weighing him down. It felt as though it were trying to pull him under. The walls of the cave seemed awfully artificial, Hawk knew nothing in natural life could create things so smooth and perfectly vertical. Even If they were in the vail it didn’t make sense.  He did hold hope that maybe the more manmade the place became, then the closer to freedom they would be.

He was wrong.

When he got to the thing that was creating such a bright glow he realised, much to his horror that it wasn’t an exit or some crack in the roof that allowed sunlight in. No it was a body, slumped against the wall and greying with death. It was clutching a lantern, the flame still burning bright and one hand reaching out as to protect itself from whatever it was that killed them. Hawk tucked his head into the crook of his arm and gagged. It was a foul sight, he could see the pain the being must have felt etched onto it’s still screaming face. Worst of all was that they didn’t look much older than himself.  He inched forward, ignoring the whimper coming from Omar and got a better look at the victim.

It was an Ace, young, it’s fangs barely grown in. They had a yellow uniform on that was torn and bloodied from the huge puncture wounds in their neck. He had pale eyes, they were probably green in life and for some reason that made Hawk incredibly sad.

“They died painfully,” He mumbled.

Omar swallowed but didn’t say a word, he looked like he wanted to smile. Hawk shivered and looked at the wound on the Ace’s neck. there was a strange yellow ooze still bubbling out of the cut, it was sticky and thick and where it touched blood there were noticeable clots.

“What could do something like that?” He questioned, grabbing the cat before it stuck it’s paw in the amber liquid.

“It’s venom,” Omar whispered. “From a sand snake.”

Hawk nodded quickly and pulled away. He shouldn’t be surprised, they had been seeing signs of the creature throughout the journey.

“Do you have any weapons on you?”

Omar shook his head and turned out his pockets.

“Dawn said not to engage.”

Hawk sucked in a breath and chewed the edge of his fingernail.

“You didn’t think to pack one just in case?”

Arm shook his head again and then smiled.

“We won’t die here Hawky.”

Hawk and the cat shared a look before it scrambled onto his shoulders and began to growl at the boy. He couldn’t understand how the boy didn’t think to at least pack a dagger or something, especially when they entered the place known for sand snakes. They were going to die down there.

“It’s okay Hawk, it will be fine.”

 Hawk hoped they would be.

***

The blood from the Aces body lead out into another small hallway. Both boys had to crouch to walk through it and Hawk refused to speak out of fear he would wake the sand snake. Omar seemed quite happy despite their current situation. He walked behind him barely making a sound. The only way Hawk even knew he was there was because the cat was growling loudly. 

The tunnel grew darker the further in they went, even the light from the torch seemed to yield to the bleakness. It seemed that they were going to hit a dead end but as they squeezed through a small bottle neck, they heard the quite murmuring of voices.

Hawk slowed, putting his arm out to keep Omar still as he listened.

“We need to turn around. Screw what Sebastian wants, its not worth being eaten.”

“Sebastian says this is only one of three. We will get paid a fortune if we could get them all. Stop being a wimp.”

Hawk shuffled closer, using a rock to hide himself. He kept his torch low as he peered over the top of the rock. Through the murky darkness Hawk could just make out the silhouette of two beings in the room up ahead.

“It might not even be down here. We could just be sacrificing ourselves.” The first voice worried and Hawk snuck a little closer.

From what he could see the small room that they had entered was closer to a basement than what they had already seen. It had wooden walls and floors; lights hung from the low roof though they didn’t hold a flame. Even the smell of damp that permeated almost every basement was rife within the room. It made Hawks nose twitch.

Afraid of being seen Hawk placed the torch on the ground and stomped out the flame. The darkness quickly slipped around them and he tried not to think about what could be lurking within it. Omar whimpered as their only light source depleted and Hawk couldn’t help but share his worry as he watched the pale flames of the being’s torches in the distance, flicker against the walls.

The pair seemed to be walking towards a set of double doors. As Hawk followed, he could see them elegant carvings of a stag and a raven carved into the wood. There was more Valkarian on the doors too, it seemed as though even the beings couldn’t make out what it said.

“I bet it’s a warning.” The first voice shivered.

“You’re being paranoid Uriah.” The second replied. “Zach died because he was stupid. Plus I bet that snake is long gone, we put a blade through its spine. The dread wolf is probably feasting on it as we speak.”

“DON’T SPEAK OF THE DREAD WOLF!” Uriah cried. “You know what happens if you acknowledge a god? Especially one we’re meant to have forgotten about?”

“Get a grip, the Dread Wolf is just a myth. Hurry up anyway I want to get home soon.”

“He’s not a myth, didn’t you hear about RedGate. He ate a whole brigade.”

The second creature that Hawk was now assuming was an Ace sighed and shook his head. Hawk wondered briefly if Ares would have been happy to know some people still feared him. They got closer still, Omar silently stepping behind him, Hawk could feel his breaths on the back of his neck as they pressed into the shadows.

“It’s not paranoia.” Uriah continued. “I’ve seen sand snakes before and none of them acted as rabid as this one. I bet Sebastian has sent us down here to die.”

Uriah pulled something out from under his cloak. Hawk strained forward to get a better look and saw that it was a gem. It was red in colour, illuminated faintly by the Ace’s fire. It looked like crystallised blood and he got the sudden urge to reach out and touch it. 

“I bet this place is haunted too. I haven’t forgot what they used to do down here…” 

“Shut up and do you’re damn job.” The other Ace snapped. Uriah jumped and fumbled with the gem before shoving it into a small groove in the door.

Hawk realised that the light the gem was emitting wasn’t coming from the touches at all but from the crystal itself. The light of it burned into the carvings on the doors until both the stags two eyes and the Ravens four were glowing a deep red.

“Humans wouldn’t haunt anything. They’re too wimpy, they certainly wouldn’t haunt here.” The second Ace pulled out a dagger, Hawk winced as he watched him swipe it against his palm before placing it against the gem. “Please accept this blood offering in return for safe passage into the crypt.”

There was a small silence, not long but long enough to hold breath. The air was still as though it too was waiting for something to happen. Hawk’s palms dug into the grainy floor, he didn’t notice how the small chips of glass and stone scraped at his skin.

Nothing happened.

Nothing.

At.

All.

All parties let out a collective sigh, some out of fear whilst others relief. Hawk wasn’t sure which category he fell into but as he watched the two Aces, now only a few feet away from him, he could see that one was consumed with fear whilst the other…

“Umm…” Uriah whimpered. “Wa-wasn’t something supposed to happen?”

The other Ace, the one that was swimming in something opposite to fear, paced the length of the doors. He had his hands in his pockets and a taunt look on his features. Hawk’s stomach felt as though it were infested with worms as he watched the Ace prowl.

“Omar, do you know anything about the door?” He whispered quietly to his companion.

Omar shook his head and peered over Hawks shoulders.

“We shouldn’t be here right now. I’m worried something will happen if we get discovered.”

Hawk couldn’t fault his logic and maybe if he thought he had a shot at escaping back the way he came he would have listened to him. But he knew that even if they left, they would be stuck in the room with the smooth walls and warm sand, with a god’s fire barrier burning brightly behind them.

“I doubt we will find a way out. We’re just going to have to hope they leave soon.”

Hawk wished that they did leave instead of what happened.

When he looked back at the Aces, he saw that they one that wasn’t Uriah had stopped his pacing and stood with his dagger in hand. Uriah was fumbling through his bag talking about things that had already gone wrong for them and leaving now would be the best bet. He didn’t see how the sneer on his partners face twisted as an unsavoury and violent thought past from his mind and into the hand that was gripping the knife.

“Hey Uriah.” He started.

Uriah looked up, lose strands of his hair falling across his face.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t we try praying to lord Corvus?”

Uriah looked uncertain and shuffled his feet.

“Mika…I really don’t like talking about the gods. Praying to one isn’t going to help its just going to make them angry.”

Mika, the other Ace, laughed harshly and shoved Uriah forward. He pointed to the door with the hand that held a blade and slowly began to move the long blond ponytail from the back of Uriah’s neck.

“Do you know why Sebastian wants to key?” Mika whispered.

Uriah seemed to sense something was off and Hawk got an itch in his fingers.

“Uh,”

“He’s going to use it to awaken Corvus, the chaos god. You know the one that tried to eat the world.”

Mika grabbed Uriah’s hair in his fist and yanked the Ace’s head back.  Uriah whimpered and tried to pull himself free but Mika was bigger, stronger and any fight the Ace tried to put up was useless against him.

“Awakening the gods isn’t good Mika! We shouldn’t be doing this! Let go of me!”

“Sebastian said to get the key shard no matter the cost, that when Corvus is free we will be absolved of all our sins. Can you imagine that Uriah? We could feast on those pathetic humans all we like and not pay the price. We could dethrone people like Crowley and that bitch in the east who want peace between the species. They’ve never drank blood in their lives Uriah, they don’t know anything.”

Uriah struggled and Hawk could see tears glistening in his eyes. He wanted to help him he wanted t-

Omar grabbed his arm as he made a move to stand, he hadn’t even realised he was holding his broken bone in his hand.

“If you try and intervene you will die,” He whispered in an eerily calm voice. “You will die and then all of this would be for nothing. Stay down and just watch.”

Hawk tried to pull his arm away but Omar seemed somehow stronger than him. His grip was vice-like in its hold and there was a glow to his eyes that made words sink away from him. Even the cat had stopped hissing from its perch, it instead watched Omar with a stillness reserved only for time.

_There’s death in his eyes, purple and wild. If you see them my dearest Hawk, please run. The whole world will be out to get you. Remember the only purple you can trust is the cats, nothing else. Remember Hawk remember._

Hawk’s head pounded. Fragments of something he couldn’t quite place buzzed around in his skull.

Purple eyes?

  Purple eyes…

     Purple eyes…

“Mika, you’re insane!” Uriah cried causing Hawk to snap back to reality.

Mika had his blade to Uriah’s throat, a savage smile etched into his skin.

“He sent you with me to be the sacrifice, I can see it now. You haven’t drunk blood yet, you’re weak.”

Omar still had hold of him, even as he yanked forward to save the Ace, he kept him in place. Hawk watched in horror as Mika swiped his blade against Uriah’s throat, holding his head back as the blood spurted from the wound.  Uriah desperately clawed at Mika to try and save himself but with every gush of blood that spilled from him his arms grew limper and he eventually slumped against Mika.

The Ace stroked his companion’s hair in a twisted mockery of affection and Hawk wanted to squeeze the life out of him like he had with Uriah.

“You’re sacrifice will not be in vain.” Mika said as he dropped the body of the ground. “Now, please.” He kneeled before the great doors. “Please accept my offering and let me into the crypt.”

For a brief moment nothing happened and Hawk thought that Mika’s death was for nothing. That was until a loud rumbling started. It shook the ground and caused the lights from the roof to come falling to the ground. They shattered near Hawk’s feet.

“Yes! Accept me!” Mika laughed.

Hawk covered his head and tucked the cat tight against his chest. The gem began to glow, not red but blue and then from the wing of the raven carving a large shadowy hand emerged. It swayed two and throw for a moment, just like a snake that was preparing to strike, before it lurched forward and grabbed Mika by the waist.

Mika threw his head back in absolution, a satisfied smile across his lips. Hawk watched the hand contract, squeezing the ace tightly. There was aloud ringing sound that felt as though it was penetrating Hawks mind. It screeched louder and louder as the hand gripped tighter.   “My lord?” Mika’s voice turned nervous, laboured even.

“What is that thing!” Hawk shouted keeping the cats as close to him as possible.

“I-I don’t know…” Omar replied grabbing hold of Hawks cloak. “d-don’t go near it.”

“No no! STOP WAI-”

There was a sickening squelch and then a crack.

Hawk stared wide eyed at the Ace. Blood was seeping from his mouth and eyes and poking from his yellow armour were flesh covered bones. Hawk’s stomach lurched as the sticky gory body fell forward against the hand. It lingered like that for a moment, Mika’s blood dripping in uneven drops on the ground.

And then…

The hand dropped the body on the ground and slithered back into the doors. The light from the crystal died and the creatures carved into the door returned to their static selves.

Hawk was sick.

Hawk wanted to go back to pandora, he really really didn’t want to be down in a horrid cellar of death with only Omar and his cat for company. He stood, his legs were shaky and when he looked down at his hands, he saw they were a few shades paler than his normal complexion. The place was relatively in tact but Hawk barely paid attention as he stumbled over to where Mika’s body laid.

“By the gods.” He muttered covering his mouth his hand. Mika was in a state of mush that made him almost vomit once again. what even was that?

“Omar, I want to go.” He whispered recoiling from Mika to look over at Uriah.

“I don’t think we can get out…” Omar replied and Hawk nodded. He knew that, he knew he had been stupid enough to get himself stuck down there. If it wasn’t for the fact that he liked Alex he would have regretted ever agreeing to go in his place. He wished this was the quick ‘in and out’ Dawn had suggested.

“We’re just going to have to keep walking then…” Hawk sighed and looked over at the doors. They were still sealed shut, the spray of blood from Uriah was now gone and Hawk wasn’t sure where it could have gone unless the door had absorbed it.

“Should…should we go up to them?” He asked Omar.

Omar jumped slightly but cast his eyes from Hawk to the door. He gave a nervous gulp, then a nod.

Hawk took a breath and cautiously he made his way over to them he gave a small sad glance at Uriah’s crumpled body. The Ace looked younger than him, his face still round and soft with childhood. Seeing one so young was jarring and seeing that youngster dead was even worse.

“I’m sorry that had to happen to you.” He sighed. The poor Ace looked so human in the pale light, it was hard to see where their differences laid.  He did the creature a small mercy and slid his eyes shut, he didn’t want the fearful expression to follow him in his death.

As he backed away, he caught sight of Omar staring at him. His eyes narrowed and brows scrunched together. A small trickle of fear made its way along his spine, it was almost as though a spider were crawling against his skin.

“What?” He questioned, giving the cat’s head a small pat as it began to growl.

“Why do you care about them? didn’t they have you trapped in RedGate?” Omar asked, tipping his head to the side.

Hawk didn’t like the amount of eye contract Omar was giving him, it was like he was being looked at through a magnifying glass. He dropped his gaze to the blood-stained ground and tried to keep his breathing even. Mika’s torch still burned off to the side of him but the shadows that fell from it made it look like claws and lips coming from the ground.

“They might need blood to live and they might kill but Uriah was just a child. You heard Mika, he hadn’t drunk blood…Why be cruel to something that didn’t be cruel to you?” Uriah probably would have turned on him the second he saw him but he couldn’t condone hurting something that had done nothing wrong aside from follow orders

“If they had known we were behind them they would have sacrificed us instead.” Omar shuddered; his gaze still fixed on him.

“Yeah, probably.” Hawk agreed, more to stop the man from watching him than to agree with him. “I’m surprised they’re able to kill one another…” He said, picking up Mika’s dagger. “I wonder if this is made with something like snakeweed?”

Omar shrugged and glanced at the doors, a worried look crossing his features.

“Should we try and open them?” He murmured as Hawk slotted the blade though his belt.

“I don’t know…you saw what happened.” Hawk brushed back a stray curl and brought his hand to the small device in his ear. “Maybe we should try speaking to Ares or Dawn.

“I’ve already tried, the lines dead.” Omar said grasping Hawks arm. Hawk frowned at the man before tugging his arm away. It made sense that the lines would be down when they were so far underground but he couldn’t help the uneasy feeling he got in his gut.

“If it was working Ares would have contacted us by now anyway.” Omar pushed.

“Don’t you think we shou-”

 _‘The door, come to the door._ ’

All the argument he had on his tongue was suddenly gone and he felt himself turn towards the doors. He had an uncomfortable itch to his body and the headache he had earlier was back. Where was the voice coming from? It sounded like the ravens from before, it sounded like Omar…

“Hawk?” Omar whispered just as the cat took a swipe at him.

Hawk shook himself from whatever self-inflicted daze he was in. He hadn’t realised he had walked over to the door and was stood only a couple of inches before it.

He couldn’t remember walking there…

“Uh…” He looked at the carving, its elaborate lines were so magnificently carved that Hawk was, for the moment, mystified by its beauty. He could see every detail of the stag’s fur, it looked velvety and soft like if he were to reach out and touch it he would feel a living body under his palm.  The raven too was carved beautifully, its long feathers sculpted with astonishing detail.

He reached out, his hand brushing the talon of the raven. He didn’t expect anything to happen as his fingers traced the lines of the craving, he certainly didn’t expect for the whispering voice he had heard to turn into a loud screaming.

**“Light bringer.”**

The voice boomed; Hawk stumbled back. His hands were pressed tightly against his ears, he wasn’t sure if he was screaming or not, he couldn’t hear anything but the voice and the deafening sound of ringing.

“HAWK!” Omar cried over the sound.

Hawk tried to turn to him but he didn’t know which way Omar was. The light from the now glowing carvings was blinding, it ravenously tore at his closed eyes, demanding he look upon it. Whispers in a foreign tongue tickled his ears and he could feel something wrapping around his waist.

“Please…” He said pathetically as whatever it was holding him tightened.

 _“He’s been waiting for you,”_ An uncanny voice giggled in his ears. _“For such a long, long time.”_

Something pulled him through the air so fast that his scream got caught in his throat. It threw him against a wall and as he crumbled down onto the floor, he saw the silhouette of Omar stood in the doorway. He was watching him with his head tilted to one side. He could have sworn his eyes were glowing but he didn’t get chance to look properly before the doors slammed shut.

He was plunged into an abyss of darkness.

**Chapter Twelve**

**A cold sweat washed over his body that was only combated by the burning pain in his shoulder.** He yelled and curled in on himself as it spread along his back. He knew it was broken even before he tried to move it. He had broken his arm before, when his father had given him a lesson on swimming and pushed him of the ledge of a cliff. Hawk had struggled and grabbed the edge before falling, he didn’t hit the water but a shelf hidden by the cliffs face and subsequently snapped his bone.  Back then all he had to worry about was his father’s reaction and the sneer from Atticus when he called him a ‘wimp’ and punched him right at the point of the break. He would have his mother’s calming voice and home cooked bread and honey helping him as he bared the pain. But now? Now he was alone in the pitch darkness of the cave with a silence so thick he could hear his heartbeat thumping faintly in his ears.

Bah-dum.

  Bah-dum.

    Bah-dum.

There was a frigid anxiousness to the air, like a string drawn tighter and tighter. The pressure was welled up, simmering, twisting in anticipation. It waited for Hawk’s inevitable fall into delusion, it waited for him to succumb to the whims of the suffocating blackness.

And then like a flame kindled from smouldering ash, something soft and comforting brushed against his hand. The feeling of relief was like being thrown into cold water, shocking and all at once. He knew the thing with him, he knew the thing that was keeping the badness away, protecting him like it always did.

“Cat…” He mumbled, uncurling finally and stroking its ears. He couldn’t see it but he knew it was there.

“Mew?” It responded and the boy could have wept at the sound.

Pain aside the boy reached out with his good arm and gathered the feline into his arms. He buried his face into its soft fur and tired desperately not to cry.

“I thought I lost you! I’m sorry I’m so so sorry.” He gasped.

The cat purred softly and rubbed its cheek against his own.

“I know we need to get out of here, I know.”

They didn’t move, not for another few moments, Hawk just wanted familiarity, even if it were a fleeting thing.  The cat knew when the moment was up and began to wiggle and meow and Hawk guessed it meant they really had to keep going.

He didn’t want to keep going. He wanted to stay curled up against the wall, to close his eyes and dream of home and a bed and his mother who smiled like the sun and always smelled like wildflowers. He wanted to stay in the delusion of eating apple and honey with Dawn in the early morning and reading Alex’s books on monsters.

“Mew.” The cat said more annoyed than ever.

“Stop it, I know that.” Hawk frowned and then tried to stand.

Pain shot along his body causing him stumble. Every movement he made caused more of his body to hurt and each breath felt as though his lungs were being crushed.

“Gods!” He gasped, using the wall for support. His body felt brittle and used and for the left side of his body he could feel nothing but pain.  He couldn’t lift his left arm no matter how hard he tried and even as he walked a few pace’s he couldn’t shake the horrific agony burning within his bones.

“I’m fine…I’m fine. We’ll find a way out… and then…I can get it fixed…I’m sure Dawn or Alex will be able to help…” He spoke through uneven breaths but pushed himself to move. He could feel something wet along his arm and he assumed it was blood.

Definitely blood.

They walked in the complete darkness from a while. Hawk was so sure that they hadn’t moved from the same spot that he really wasn’t expecting the sudden golden glow of torch light coming from just ahead of him. He held his shoulder and struggled forward, he hadn’t realised the cat was limping until he saw it in the light.

“Cat, are you okay?” He whispered, watching as the cat held its left paw up.

“Mew.” It replied and flicked its tail.

Hawk swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and carried on. It soon became apparent that the light wasn’t from some sort of exit or even torch light but instead from a wall of Valkarian runes. Wheezing with pain and barely managing to move he slowly made his way over to them. They looked to have been smouldered into the walls with iron and when he ran his hand over them. Touching them was like touching the coals left after a fire died, hot but not scorching. They hummed under him, a sound that was very close to that of a whisper. He couldn’t understand them, not in the slightest but he assumed it was some sort of warning.

His idea was soon proven to be true, as he stepped away from the runes he found his feat crunching along something that definitely wasn’t sand. Spanning at least fifty foot and winding through the hallway was a translucent snake shead. It was as thick as it was long and little flecks of red and gold still clung to the skin.

He breathed deep and stepped carefully around it, holding his pained moan in as he navigated the length of it.

“By the gods,” He muttered. “I didn’t think anything could grow so large…”

He had no doubt that this was the sand snake that had been picking off the Aces. He just wondered where it would hide in a cave with no sand.

They continued on; the narrow pathway soon opened out to a large grey room it was lit with blue flamed candles. There was a small door at far end of it and two rank looking pipes that could have held water but had long since dried up. What Hawk was most mesmerised by however was the piles of glittering gold that covered the back wall. Stack upon stacks of coins, jewellery, candle holders, everything that could be found in a Nobel Aces home was there and Hawk couldn’t help but be drawn to them.

“There’s like a dozen keys here…how do I know which one is which?”  Hawk muttered hobbling over to the gold. The candles lining the room doing little to show the majesty of the place. With his good hand he skimmed though the gold, marvelling at how it felt against his fingers.

“Meow?” The cat cried, Hawk looked over at it and saw that the creature was pawing at something in the dirt, something that looked an awful lot like a drawing. He knelt and picked it up. The paper thin and old, it stunk of mould and musk. The image itself was worn; the colours had faded but he could still sort of make out the rough outline of a bird.

“What is with the birds?” He said to himself, brushing his thumb along the paper. There was writing at the bottom of the image and Hawk was certain that, it too was written in Valkarian. He rolled up the page the best he could with only one hand and shoved it into his pocket, hopefully if Ares had made it out, he would be able to read whatever it was written under it.

“Nice find.” He smiled at the cat as it rubbed against his leg, his paw still held high “Let try the doors see if we can get back into the church…we’ll let Dawn know of this place and she can decide what to do with the gold.” He walked over to the wooden door, careful not to step on the cat as it weaved through his legs and took a deep breath. He hoped that this door didn’t throw him into the next room, he wasn’t sure how much more damage he could take. Slowly he gripped the handle and pulled, finding to his surprise, it swung open without any resistance. He looked down at the cat in shock before peering past the doorframe. A large staircase led upwards from the door, blue light cascading down the steps and ceasing near his feet. He smiled hopefully and stepped through the door without a second glance.

That was when he heard it, a loud rumble like something scraping along to ground. It seemed to echo all around him, causing the stacks of gold to tumble worthlessly to the ground. Hawk backed away, afraid that another shadowy hand would come from the door and crush him like it did Mika but what he got instead was far worse.  There was a grumbling from under the jewels, like something was moving under them.

And then…

“WHO DARES STEAL FROM THE GREAT RAVEN KING?!”

**Chapter Twelve.**

**Hawk was thrown back onto his bad shoulder as whatever it was that had spoken burst from under the pile of jewels.** He gasped in pain and tried to pull himself up onto the stairs, as he did, he stopped…

There’s something about fear that eats away at the soul, it fills every nerve, every thought until all that remains is a fearful shivering wreak.

He couldn’t move.

That thing looked as though it had come from a nightmare as it slithered slowly from under the gold. Treasures fell from its massive diamond-shaped head revealing more and more crimson scales coming from the ground. It was a thick as it was tall, coiling up like a spring until all that was before him was red, reptilian skin. One deep green eye stared down at him, the pupil slit and the iris glowing. Stuck in place of the other eye was a disk, it protruded from the eye socket like another of the creatures many horns. 

_I see you Light bringer._

His head burst with pain as he looked upon the disk, it was worse than his shoulder, sending prickles of black into his vision. The giant serpent looked down at him, its tongue lapping the ground before his feet.

_If you don’t move then you will be dead before we can meet._

Hawk finally got to his feet, a pained cry coming from his lips as his body buckled in agony.

“A human,” The snake hissed, turning its good eye to look at him. “No, not a human…”

 “I…I’m not here to hurt you…”

The snake turned away from him, the things large body barely able to move between the cramped walls.

“No, I suppose you’re not. Your kind only take, you stole fire and wind and now you steal from the darkness itself. What a brave little mouse.” As its scales slithered past him Hawk took note of the large sword sticking from the beast’s spine.

“Let me go and I will p-put whatever it was I stole back.”

The snake settled into a coil, its head resting on its back as it watched him.

“I’d prefer it if you did something for me.” It moved the part of its body that was impaled with the sword. “Remove it and I will let you scurry up the stairs.”

_No no no._

“I scratch your back, and you scratch mine.”  It hissed.

Hawk stared down at the scales, each one was bigger than his hand and a bloody colour that faded to orange.  Golden liquid filled the grooves between them, it was thick and sticky and coming from the wound along the snakes back. Hawk looked at the cat who was perched on the step above him, and then back to the snake. There was absolutely no way he could outrun it.

“Y-you’ll l-let me go?” He whispered, swallowing against his dry throat.

“Freedom is what you seek is it not?” The snake settled, its tongue lapping at the wound. “Alas I lack the hands to pull the thing from my body, I’d be grateful to anyone who…removed it.”

Hawk took a deep breath and stepped down into the treasure. It clinched and shivered but didn’t give to his weight.

As he hobbled over to it, he wondered briefly if this was the kind of thing Alex would have been better suited to, he probably had a book somewhere about taming sand snakes. Alex would have charmed the thing into breaking him out too, probably even got to ride on its back.

“You…you won’t bite me whilst I do it?”

The snake tipped its head away and laid it next to its tail, it’s one eye watching him closely.

“I don’t eat the help, not if I can avoid it.” It followed his movements as he reached out, his fingers hesitant as they touched its skin. “I’m curious to you boy, I haven’t seen a human in years, but you, you smell human, you look human, but…there’s something off about you.”

Hawk ignored it and ran his hand across the scales, they were surprisingly warm under his palm and not as slimy as he originally thought snakes to be. They were smooth and only ridged when one scale overlapped the other.

The snake was very calm as he reached forward to touch the sword. It only flickered its tongue out at him and watched. Hawk was thankful that all it seemed to want to do was watch him.

“Quiet for a human, most are pompous in how they managed to defeat me, before I impale them with my fangs.”

Hawk gripped the sword and tried not to think about said fangs as they loomed only inches away from him. The sword was wedged in deep, deep enough that it would take more than one tug to pull it out.

“How can you speak?” He asked as he tried to think of how he could get it out with only one working arm. 

“Creatures speak as well as you. Most humans are just too ignorant to listen.”

Hawk pulled at the sword again.

“You can’t hurt me boy, I suggest pulling harder, I’m getting impatient.” Hawk could see it swaying as it watched his every move, swaying in a way that would suggest it was eying him up.

He nervously squeezed the hilt before yanking with all his strength. The sword was wedged good but eventually came free with one sicky movement. A squelch came from the wound as the silver slid out and the snake made a loud groan of relief.

“Throw the sword away!” It hissed bending the part of its body that had been stabbed, it seemed to be moving at a much quicker pace than it had before.

Hawk didn’t think throwing the sword away was a very good idea but when he failed to do it the snake lowered its head to him and opened Its mouth.

“Do it now boy or I will turn you inside out.”

Hawk shivered and tossed the blade behind him, hoping that maybe it would land on the stairs and he could retrieve it as he left.

“Okay I did as you asked, now hold up your en-en…” The snake was looking at him with the side of its head that housed the disk. He didn’t know what it was or why it was so alluring but he found himself subconsciously reaching for it.

_I’m here I’m here, touch me lightbringer. Become one with me._

“Yes, this is the real reason you’re here. You want the key shard like most greedy humans do.”

Hawk wasn’t listening.

“Go on then, take it.” The snake urged.

A loud meow came out of nowhere and suddenly the cat Jumped onto his arm, knocking it out of the way just as the serpent slammed its jaws shut. He stared at his hand for a moment, confused as to what happened and then the abrupt realisation washed over him.

The snake had no intention of letting him go.

He had just thrown his weapon.

He would have been dead if it wasn’t for the cat.

The snake rose to full height, its body rolling under it as it stared down at him. Hawk grabbed the cat and stepped back; fear was a whisper in his ear. There was a tense silence where both Hawk and the snake stared at each other, it was a moment where an understanding was made.

To feed.

To live.

To survive.

The bond between predator and prey tugged so tightly that Hawk had a scarce moment to blink before the snake attacked.

It lunged with such a force that the gold scattered, smashing against the walls with an almighty crash. Hawk screamed loudly as he turned on his heel, pain ricocheting along his body and feet sinking into the ocean of treasure. The snakes head hit just to the side of him, globs of venom spewing into the air with the momentum.

Hawk ran as fast as he could whilst in pain, his feet catching on the jewels and treasures that surrounded him. His breaths were coming out in quick uneven gasps, sending tickles of agony along his spine. As he reached the stairs, he spied the sword, it was laid glistening in the candlelight just waiting for him to grasp it.

Only it was far out of the radius of the stairs and grabbing it would mean he’d have to set the cat down without a guarantee he would be able to move fast enough to wield it before the snake got him.

Could a sword that size even do anything to the giant reptile?

No.

He needed something bigger, something that would be able to fight it on equal grounds…

Something…

“Ares!” He cried launching himself onto the first step of the stairs, the sword now a forgotten plan. “We need to get to Ares.”

They bolted up the stairs with such urgency that any thought of pain or fear was gone and in its place was bold adrenaline, it streamed through him like an elixir. Pumping into his muscles as he followed the twisting staircase up and up and up.

The steps were old, worn in the middle for years of use and with each one he took the more unbalanced they made him. As he reached a landing, he was near crawling up them, his ankles sore form the repeated misplacement of them.

He leaned against the wall, his body heavy with fatigue and uncomfortableness. He could hear the slither of scales as they followed him, scraping at the earth. Some of the adrenaline had worn off and he soon realised that he only had a dull blue light to show him the way. There must be gods fire ahead, he wondered if that would hurt the snake if it got too close to him.

“I can smell you.” It hissed, its voice an echo at the bottle of the stairs.

Hawk gathered his whits and pushed himself on, longing for the moment he was back in the cold sand and sunlight. He realised not long after running again that the stairs had come to a deadened room which was thin and long and full of barrels of strange green slime.

“Nonono.” He muttered, eyes scanning the area for some way out of the room. “We’re about to be eaten by fifty-foot serpent all because I wanted to help Alex. I’m such an idiot.”

The rumble of scales drew louder, the ground shaking under him. Panicked and out of ideas he looked up and noticed a small wooden hatch. It wasn’t big, probably only large enough to fit one of the barrels through.

“Okay bud, I can’t get that open by myself. My arms pretty messed up; do you think you can get it open for me?” He said to the cat, keeping his head turned to the stairs. He tried to remain calm, focus on his breathing, but his body convulsed, the darkness so empty it was like staring into the void.

It was like death was waiting for him to make the wrong move.

“Mew?” The cat cried drawing his attention back to it.

“Yes, right,” He stood on his tip toes, his hand only just missing the latch. “The latch, do you see it?” He said as the cat leaned on the crook of his elbow. “Can open it?”

The cat’s ear flickered and he leaned up onto Hawks hand, Hawk winced as pain shot down his injured side and hissed out a string of curses.

“I CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR!” The snakes voice boomed closer than Hawk had realised.

He looked at the cat who was pulling at the lock with its teeth.

“Come on, hurry up.” He pushed, trying to lift it up higher.

The snakes head appeared through the darkness, its eye bright in the gloom and a sickening laugh rumbled from its throat. Hawk looked between it and the cat, trying desperately to breathe normally. He knew he had very little time to get out before that thing caught him. He knew that one nick from those fangs and that was the end for him.

And then, through the silence of the room, between the scrape of scales and the loud slap of the snakes tongue a loud pop sounded. Hawk looked up to see the cat had pulled the latch free. 

The hatch burst open, realising an old wooden ladder that fell just before him. It looked fragile and unsafe but a lot about the situation was unsafe.

“Up Up Up!” He shouted to the cat who was gripping the ladder for dear life. It didn’t waste any time climbing up the thin wooden slats and staring down at him once he reached the top.  The snake was close now, Hawk could see the dark red of its under scales as they rolled across the ground. As quick as he could go, he climbed the ladder, his damaged shoulder burning with every move.

“You think you can escape!” The snake hissed and Hawk felt its tongue brush his back. “I took down those Carnivores, I can take you down just as easy.” The air behind him grew tense and he willed himself to keep moving. He had just reached the top step when the ladder suddenly was torn away from him. It crashed to the ground as the snake laughed malevolently. Hawks scream was caught in a gasp as he desperately grabbed the lip of the hatch before he fell. His one working arm strained to keep him up as pain bludgeoned his shoulder. The cat grabbed his cloak, pulling back with as much strength as it could.

“The gods delivered you to me,” The serpent purred, Hawk looked down to see its head almost eye level with his own.  Even when it was curled up on itself and struggling to sit in the cramped space the snake was still lethal, prepped to kill him in more ways than he was willing to think of.

“I think I’ll kill you slowly,” It chuckled, head swaying side to side as it watched him struggle. “Years of not seeing a single human, left me craving the sweet taste of your blood.”

Hawk groaned as his knee hit the wood, if he could just get a little higher, he could get it through the hatch.

“You wouldn’t like me.” He called with a shaky voice, he swung his legs again, using the wall to build momentum.

He was just about to clamber up when something grabbed him by the leg, hurling him down to the ground hard. He hit so hard that the air was pushed from his lungs and left him gasping silently at the sheer pain of it. The snake loomed above him, fangs poking out from their film shafts and a generous amount of venom dripping from the hollow points.

It struck quick and Hawk only had a millisecond to roll to the side. If he had any air in his lungs he would have screamed with the pain. He hastily shifted onto the balls of his and hid behind the barrels, the bone in his belt never starker.

 _“First thing you need to know about monsters, Boy, this that they always have a weak point. If you can’t find it before they get you then go for the eyes.”_  

His father’s words rang in his ears though he couldn’t remember the lesson, he’d never faced a monster before…

He painfully touched the bone, it seemed to sap all moisture from his fingers.

“Little mouse,” The snake sung, it’s head turning towards him, “Don’t run away. You want the shard, don’t you? I can give it to you if you just.” It smashed the barrels close to him with its barbed tail “Stay.” Chunks of wood and debris shot past him and Hawk swallowed the bile burning the back of his throat.

Its massive head rounded the corner of his hide, tongue wiping out at his feet.

“Still.”

Hawk had a moment to draw the bone, pull it from his belt like a sword before the snake came for him. The sheer power of the snake was intense, it pushed him against the wall with the intent of crushing every one of his bones. Hawk had to manover the bone so it was in his unfavoured hand, the one that currently wasn’t broken.

_Do it! DO IT! KILL HER! KILL HER!”_

The insipid whispering tickled the back of his mind. It fuelled his movements, sung war songs into his bloodstream and gave him the strength to plunge the bone straight into the beasts working eye.

Gold bubbled around the bone as the snake began to scream, it threw its head back giving him enough space to slip out from between it and the wall.

“YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE RAT!” It roared, its head smashing against the roof as it tried to free itself of the bone.  “WHEN I FIND YOU, I WILL CONSUME YOU SLOWLY!”

Hawk had no doubt that it would. He looked to the stairs where he had come, he had no choice he couldn’t get out any other way.

“Cat! Find Ares!”

Holding his shoulder tightly Hawk turned heel and began running.

***

 

 

Hawk sprinted as quick as he could whilst injured, back down the stairs. Each step seemed to grow in size as the monstrous snake gave chase. Down and down they spiralled, so far down that for a moment Hawk believed he had gone deeper than ever before. His relief hit him like a wave as he saw the faint blue light of the gods fire torches. It propelled him forward into the room full of dazzling riches, too beautiful to be in a place such as that.

The serpent smashed and crashed behind him, dulling the euphoric effects his momentary relief had given him and dragged him back deep into the mitts of panic.  


He entered the gold and instantly found his feet sinking into the jewels. It felt as though hands of splender were grabbing him and pulling him down deep under the beautiful depths. It slowed him, allowing the snake to catch up. It’s hulking form smashed against the walls as it dragged itself ever closer.

He clutched his shoulder, breaths ragged and deep. His body felt like a dying flame, timid, used and damn right exhausted.

He hauled himself forward, clawing at the gold and ignoring the sound of the beast behind him, he could see the dark hallway of the cave before him, if he stretched his hand out he could almost touch the ridged walls, he could almost feel the runes caved into the stone.

“You can’t run from me.” It sung smugly.

Hawk could hear the scrape of the serpent’s muscles as they slid over the coins, its body too dexterous to be caught in the current of gold. He pushed on, fighting against the gold until he could finally pull himself free and into the cave.  He ran, surely the beast couldn’t follow him through the tight bottle neck of the cave.

The runes glowed in a blur as he sprinted past him, illuminating his path faintly as he descended ever deeper into the slick darkness of the cave he had once escaped from. He tripped and scrambled over bits of rock and shed skin all the while the snake grew wild with its anger. It squeezed itself between the rocks, smashing bits apart as it came though. The ground rumbled in anticipation for it, it was almost as if it were buzzing with excitement, waiting for the battle between prey and predator to conclude, leaving Hawk as just another bloody stain to add to the floor.

Hawk was determined not to become that.

Without the light of the runes he was as blind as the snake, working on pure instinct to lead him back down the winding cave. He kept one hand to the wall, feeling the damp stickiness of the rocks until just before him he could see a small bar of light.

The doors.

He

  Had

    Forgotten

        about

             the

                doors.

He skidded to a stop, his breath wheezing and pained and for the moment he just wanted to curl up and cry. He didn’t want to be stuck in that situation; in a place he couldn’t escape from with something that resembled death on his heel. If he was lucky, he’d die quickly if not then he would be subdued to the type of death Ares had described.

“The doors only open for the gods!” The serpent laughed and it drew close, Hawk could smell the venom of its fangs. The twangy death laced scent surrounded him, mocking him as it readied itself to penetrate his veins.

The doors had opened for him once before.

_You know your power, light bringer._

Hawk pressed his hand to the door.

He was grabbed before his could scream and before he knew it he was dragged away from the serpent and behind the doors.

 

**Chapter thirteen.**

**_“Remember my little Hawk, you will always be hunted._ ** _No matter how far you run someone or something will always try to kill you. Watch over your shoulders, sweet thing. I fear something malicious is coming for you.”_

Hawk remembered the words but didn’t know who spoke them. They came to mind as the hand set him down on the ground where a stain still marked the floor from Uriah’s body. They were both gone and he didn’t want to think about what nasty things could have carried them off.

He gave himself a moment to catch his breath, the hand waved before him, it was nothing like the aggressive entity it had been before.

“Thank you.” He muttered.

Just as he was getting to a reasonable level of calm the door let out an almighty BOOM. At first he thought it was the hand as it slid back between the frames, but after a few more sporadic bangs he was certain it was coming from behind.

The beating grew so violent that the stag carving in the door began to crumble, a long crack formed over its heart, bleeding clumps of wood and stone as the entrance bowed to the force behind it.

“Why is it still coming!?” He cried kicking up the sand behind him as he began to dash.

The banging became synonymous to the pound of his heart. He ran and ran and the banging soon became a cracking and that cracking became one loud BOOM.

The snake moved so quickly that his head start was barely inches. No matter how quick he slid through the narrow walkways the snake was always just a pace behind, smashing and crashing through the rocks as though they were nothing.

There was an almost constant whispering in his mind. It spoke in a language far from his own, twisting and singing the words with harsh tones and muted vowels.  Hawk realised his mistake as he caught sight of the blue flamed barrier that Ares hadn’t been able to pass through.  Nothing could pass through it without burning, nothing could survive it.

Hawk swallowed tight; he knew this was it this was the end. He could either die horribly by venom and constriction or burn.

His fear was muted by the whispers in his mind, they dared him to step though the gods fire, to toy with death as though he was the one in control of his fate.

Hawk chose the gods fire.

He dashed straight for it ignoring the protest in his limbs and the faltering of his heart. If he was going to die then at least he chose that fate for himself.

He ran through it in one fluid movement.

The only thing to burn was his clothes, nothing else.

Nothing at all.

He didn’t stop to ponder what that meant he instead continued to run up the stairs and to the light of the desert. The snake tried to follow, only when he heard it screaming that he realised it couldn’t pass through. He looked back watching as the blue flames burned lines down its’ scales.

“Good riddance.” He muttered and carried on forwards.

It didn’t take him as long to reach the surface as it did to get down there and for once in his life he was happy to see the desert. He fell to his knees lying in the icy sand as his shoulder throbbed and his heart thumped against his ribs. Flames still danced along his cloak but didn’t seem to be doing damage. He wished he could say the same for the rest of his clothes, his shirt bottoms and shoes were nothing more than rags hanging from him.

He watched the wydigons fly across the sky, their reptilian forms nothing like the snakes. They were beautiful and graceful and moved with such an elegance that he couldn’t understand how they could be related to that awful beast underground.

The church remained the same only now he noticed that the doors of the entrance were open and large shadows poked out from it, feeling the ground around them. Hawk groaned as he got back to his feet. Maybe Ares was in there, maybe he could tell him what happened with the gods fire.

He stumbled across the sand, making his way to the doors.

He found the god stood at the end of the nave, weather worn pews covered in his shadows lined up behind him. They were warped and twisted to look more like tree roots than seats. There was a bright golden light coming down from the impressive organ that still seemed immaculate even when the rest of the church was a mess. As he grew closer, he found that the glow was from bright sunlight pouring in from a break in the roof, it glistened from the bronze pipes filling the space that Ares’ shadows weren’t occupying.

Large chandeliers with burning blue candles hung from the ceiling, their ropes criss crossing against the beams of the roof and down the length of the walls.

Hawk pulled himself into the church, the wooden floorboards creaking under his feet. Ares’ ears twitched at the sound and as his shadows fell away from the room to seek him out. Hawk caught a glimpse of the thing they were concealing.

Hanging from the wall by its wings was a large carving of a man with a raven’s head and wings, black feathers painted with chipped paint and dulled by the sun travelled down its body leaving only taloned feet uncoloured. It stood about six foot with eyes as black as the wings and Hawk got a feeling of absolute terror as he gazed into them.

“What happened to you?” Ares’ said turning around. Hawk spied the fluffy white form of the cat almost instantly as it sat in the god’s arms.

“Theres a snake living under the church.” He said flatly. “Its burning with gods fire. I can walk through it apparently.”

Ares nodded his head, his claws gently stroking the cats fur.

“He told me as much.” He held the feline out to him with a sigh. “How did you manage to piss off a sand snake?”

“I don’t think that’s a sand snake. I’m pretty sure it had the key with it, it could talk Ares.”

“Most things can talk, Pup. If it has the key then that’s that, we leave it alone.” His shadows flickered around him, poking at his damaged shoulder. “If anything we should go, you’re hurt and I don’t want to be here any longer.”

He began to walk ahead of him but Hawk grabbed the edge of his furs.

“Ares I could walk through the gods fire…”

Ares’ ears twitched and he tugged his body away from him.

“Some people can go through. Whatever sired you probably left magic in your blood. That or you’re lucky.” He walked off.

“My father was Human.”

Ares hummed, his shadows still poking at Hawks wound.

“Get a move on pup.”

The cat wiggled in Hawks hold and began to growl lowly at the doors. Hawk held it tight and trudged after Ares, his head heavy with questions.

“What if someone else tries to get the key? And what in all the vail was the shadow hand that threw me through the door.”

“One: If anyone wants the key then that’s their problem. It’s dangerous and unpredictable and the thing its holding doesn’t need to ever be in this world. Two: I have no idea what you’re talking about but if I could take a guess, I’d say it was sick of your questions.”

Hawk sucked in a breath and marched after him, his anger mixing with his anxiety and fatigue.

“Listen, I’m really fucking scared Ares! Please just explain wha-“

Just as the words spilled from his mouth a loud smashing rumbled from under the floorboards. Ares grabbed his bad arm, ignoring the cry of pain Hawk made and began pulling him towards the doors. His ears kept on twitching as the bagging intensified.

They made it just to the frame of the doors before they slammed closed, a strange purple glow surrounding them. Ares cursed in Valkarian and turned towards him.

“A magic seal, basic magic but a pain to remove.” He looked towards whatever was making the banging and frowned. “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe you’ve got us in this situation. How did you managed to annoy a talking snake?”

“I didn’t do anything…Well apart from stab a bone through its eye but it was going to kill me, it was that or get eaten.”

Ares seemed to turn several shades paler than he already was but also look as though he was about to combust at the same time. It manifested as a low snarl that stopped before it could slip between his fangs. Instead the god pressed his fingers to the sides of his nose and took a deep breath.

“The gods punish me.” He murmured and placed his free hand on the door. “Whoever did this want’s to make sure we don’t leave without a fight. I’d recommend hiding if you want to live, that wound of yours isn’t going to help me kill this thing.”

Hawk was going to suggest another way out but as he looked towards the stained-glass window, he found the same purple glow to be surrounding it.

The Gods weren’t just punishing Ares.

He placed the cat on the ground and slipped under one of the pews, Ares’ shadows woven tightly around his arm. It didn’t hurt that much anymore.

“Don’t move unless you need to.” Ares growled his hand out towards the shaded part of the church.

Hawk watched as the shadows seemed to draw to it, twisting and coiling around his fingers as though they were old friends. The ones that came from his back flickered, they were lighter than the others, almost like they were hit by the sun.

The banging was accompanied by a horrible laugher, it was wet and raw and reminded Hawk of a jackal. 

The ground wept as the serpent burst through it, its long body working out of the hole its massive head created. The red was intense in the sunlight, bright crimson like fresh blood, but also orange and gold with spots of black along the sides where the gods fire burned. The beast’s scales stretched as it forced itself into the room, some even catching on the splinters of wood though it didn’t seem to care.

“I smell you boy, oh what things the key whispers about you. The host, the Light bringer the-” the snake paused and turned its head towards Ares, gold still bled from the wound though it wasn’t as bad as before. “-the dog.”

A shadowy sword grew in Ares’ hand, the god turned it a couple of times, Hawk watched his fists clench and unclench around the hilt.

“Have they sent you to free me from the life? The betrayer, the hound, the filth of the creators. Twisted from fang and shadow and forged with blood. What a putrid thing they send.” The snake rocked back and forth as it looked upon Ares, its tongue moving rapidly as it tried to pin his location.

“Son of Corvus, son of shadow. God of Mercy they once called you. Now it is the Harlot, the Dread Wolf, Trickster and Fenris. Last I heard you went by Mortis.”

Ares didn’t seem bothered by the snake nor by the names it spoke to him.

“Whatever happened to you Cera?”

The snake laughed and lowered itself to Ares’ eye level.

“Meredith said you would come here, said you and the Chosen would come to disrupt the peace. She told me this as she placed the shard in my eye, as she watched me become this monster and left me here with a curse as bad as yours.”

Ares touched her muzzle and his shadows did the same.

“Let us leave and I promise when the time comes, I will take you myself.” Ares whispered. “They boy is mine, my mate claimed him and that means if you try and kill him, I will not show mercy.”

The snake pulled its head back and opened its mouth, the large fangs slipping free.

“I had an order.”

“And what was that?” Ares growled, positioning himself in front of Hawk.

“To kill you and the creature who wishes to take the shard from me.”

If Hawk had blinked, he would have missed the moment the snake struck at Ares. It was so fast that Hawk wasn’t even sure if it had swallowed Ares or the god had escaped.

“Don’t play your little games with me Trickster, I know you’re weak. I can smell it on you like a sickness. They don’t fear you anymore.” 

Cera swerved past him, the barb on its tail smashing against the pews as it came past. Hawk couldn’t see Ares, but he assumed he was somewhere close by as his shadows still gripped his shoulder.

He was almost thrown of balance as the ground rattled, Hawk looked up to see the serpents tail wedged firmly in the wall, a rope of shadows slipping over It.

“Last chance to back down Cera, I won’t hesitate to kill you!” Ares stumbled around the front of her, gold bleeding into his furs.

“The vessel-” Cera pulled at the wall “-must,” the barbs came free pulling chucks of rock and stone out with it.

“Die!” It roared the last part smashing everything around it in its frenzy. Hawk covered his head, pulling the cat close as bits of wood and rock flew at him.

“Then you leave me with no choice.” Ares was calm despite the amount of gold leaking down his wrists.

Hawk wasn’t given a moment to ponder as the serpent attacked again, lunging forward with the intent to swallow Ares whole. He was on his feet the moment the serpents body came barrelling towards him. Charred scales still burning with gods fire crushed the seats he had hidden behind. Hawk jumped backwards, his shoulder barely registering pain as he watched Ares swing his shadow sword.

It hit Cera’s maw knocking its head back with a surprising amount of force. Ares twisted the blade in his grip before plunging it into the side of the beast’s neck. A great spray of gold spurted out from the wound, covering the walls in a shimmering paint. Cera let out a loud, gurgly wail as it thrashed about the space.

Ares wiped the gold from his face, his eyes almost black as he watched the last few twitches of life die from the snake’s form.

“Explain how you not only pissed off a sand snake but also managed to piss of a God of protection?” Ares’ frowned his sword disappearing from his grasp.

“I don’t know…” He cautiously stepped over to him, allowing the cat to clamber onto his shoulders.

“Cera was supposed to guard places like this. It took me a while to see It but this is defiantly a crypt, one of Corvus’. Meredith must have done that to her to protect the shard.”

Hawk looked at the serpent’s limp form. Bloody, burning and slowly getting back up.

It was getting back up.

How could it still be alive?

It was coming for Ares.

_Save him Light bringer, he is important._

Hawk once again felt a wave of uncontrollable power wash over him, even as Ares still spoke, oblivious to the harrowing form behind him.

Then the snake struck.

Hawk wasn’t sure how he managed to move to quickly but in the space of a millisecond he had shoved Ares’ out of the way and taken the worse of the serpents hit. It pushed him right back and against the far wall of the church. Squeezing until Hawk could barely breathe.

He looked up and saw a rope hanging from the wall, just above his reach, it was connected to the chandler just above Cera’s head.

“Cat!” He gasped, “The rope! Unhook it!” 

Cera roared as the cat jumped onto Hawks head. Hawk used all the strength he had to keep the serpent’s fangs off him.

“Unclean, unholy abomination!” Cera screamed at him “Not human NOT HUMAN NOT HUMAN!”

At the same time the whispering in his head returned, pounding in his temples like an off-beat drum.

_“All hail the Raven King, All hail.”_

The snake pulled its head back, fangs so close he could smell the acidity of the venom. He breathed heavily pressing himself as close to the wall as possible.

“Mew!” The cat called at the chandelier came free.

Hawk watched as the snake’s scales were tinged with blue as the gods fire drew close. The frame of the chandler hit the snakes head hard, locking around it’s neck before it could pull away. Gods fire spread out across the floor, eating greedily at the wood as a chorus of screams rang from cera’s body.

Hawk grabbed the cat and pulled himself out, the gods fire brushing at his ankles. Ares hovered just beyond the fire, his shadows twitching eagerly at the edge of the it. Hawk winced as he took a breath, he probably had a fracture of something over his ribs as well now.

“Are you okay?” He wheezed as Ares’ shadows wrapped themselves around him, some going so far as to brush his cheeks and hair.

Ares looked embarrassed by that but no matter how much he clenched and unclenched his hands the shadows wouldn’t obey.

“I’m fine, you idiot. I’m a god, it takes more than a snake to kill me, you on the other hand are nothing more than a bag of meat.”

“Your welcome.” Hawk muttered. “We need a way out.”

Ares nodded and began to make his way over to the doors. They only made It a few paces before the ground began to rumble again and both god and human knew what was coming up behind them. This time it was Ares who reacted quick enough, spearing the serpents Jaws with a long shadowy spear.

“Run!” he snapped just as the snakes jaws clamed down on the weapon causing it to turn to smoke.

Hawk stumbled over his feet as he backed away, the windows and doors still glowing bright purple. He watched as Cera tossed Ares aside as if he were nothing and began to make its way towards him.

“If you come out, I’ll make it quick.” Cera called, the scape of its scales echoing around him.

Hawk looked at the door, Ares and he might not be able to open it, but maybe…

“I’m over here!” he shouted, placing the cat down.

“I need you to get Ares, make sure he’s okay.” He whispered to it.

The cat was hesitant but did as it was told, weaving between the pews.  Cera turned to him, it’s burning body smashing everything in its way. Hawk held his nerve tight in his chest, he couldn’t let fear consume him, not when he had to be meticulous about his plan.

He almost let out a whimper as the serpent drew to full size, its humongous form reaching the roof of the church and having to bend some to fit. The chandelier still hung around its neck burning blue welts into its scales.

As it struck, he ducked down rolling out of the way before he could be crushed under the scales.

The whispering hummed as the beast rammed headfirst into the wall just short of the door. Hawk was sure it was taunting him, begging him to get close enough to the disk for the snake to snag him. Cera recovered quickly, drops of golden blood spattered across the floor. One side of its face had huge splinters protruding from the flesh, Hawk slipped behind one of the still intact pews, his hands shaking with the need to reach for the disk.

“When I catch you, I’m going to enjoy squeezing the life from your veins.” Cera purred, shaking the splinters free, “I have to admit though, you are one brave little mouse to challenge me like this.” Its body slowly moved around the pews, tongue darting from its mouth as it got closer and closer to Hawk.

“Please gods,” Hawk muttered looking up to the roof. “Please just show me a little bit of mercy.” As he spoke the church became silent, the terrifying scrape of the serpent’s scales had ceased as well as the wet slap of its tongue as it moved out of its mouth.  He cautiously glanced around the edge of his hide and was met with nothing but stale air.

Nothing.

There was nothing lurking in the shadows beyond his hide and Hawk found it to be strange, Cera hadn’t been this silent the whole time they had been fighting. Sweat beaded across his forehead and his now loose curls stuck to his brow. He tried to control his fear, to calm himself enough to think of a way to get it to smash into the door. All hope of calm was shattered when something grabbed, tugging him back.

Hawk barked out a sound and glanced at his captor. Cera was dragging him with her long-barbed tail towards its open mouth. The barbs dug into his ankle and Hawk could feel the poison burning against his skin.

“Let go of me!” He screamed trying to pry himself free with the leg that was still loose.

“You’re lucky,” Cera hissed shaking him “Not many get to walk beside death and get to live to tell the tale.” She brought him close to her open mouth, a row of curved teeth followed behind her two film coated fangs, yellow venom dripping from their hollowed forms. “It’s a pity he’s too weak to save you.”

They were eye level, Hawk could see the patters the scales made across its face. He could see each spot of golden blood as it engraved itself into the grooves of the scales. He could see the disk, he could see the twisted eye shaped patters in the centre of it and the Valkarian that circled the edge of it. He could hear it whispering, so clearly that he had no doubt that it was coming from that and not from inside his head.

Before he could even think about the death that was awaiting him, he reached out grasping the disk with his good hand.

Pain bolted through him as hot as a fire, burning acid into his veins. Everything went white, smothering the dimly lit church with a light so bright he couldn’t see anything within it.

_“Corvus is coming, I’ve tried to end this war with him but I’m afraid my time is running out” A man or at least Hawk believed it to be a man, spoke. He couldn’t see anything except for a vague outline of a creature amongst the light._

_“The wound struck deep, I can already see the wood dying around me, soon the earth will be too rotten to farm.”_

_“What about the boy? He can’t stay here if Corvus is truly wanting to destroy you.”  He knew her voice over any other. He longed for her in a way that was so raw his chest filled with rotten blood. His mother’s voice was soft yet strong, reminding him of sunlight and wildflowers._

_“He must be hidden, even from you, magic is a link to us that I can’t risk. He is old enough to survive, the man you married has given him enough skills to take care of himself.” The man continued. “He must remain alive, under any circumstance. If you would allow me to see him, I would remove all memory of magic from his mind. I’ll replace it with human memories, he’d never know I existed, he’d never know his purpose.”_

_His mother was silent and the light was getting brighter, so so bright._

_“Can’t I be with him? He’s the only thing I have that’s good, if I lose him, I’ll have nothing left.”_

_“If you fail to protect him, there will be no world for you to be alone in. He is a tool don’t forget that, whatever connection you have with him will only serve to weaken his protection.”_

_His mother’s cries were enough to break his heart, he had never heard her cry as much as she was. Not even when Atticus had said he hated her, not even when his father beat her._

_The cries changed as the world around him flickered._

_They changed into something that tinged the love in his heart._

_A caw._

_A caw of laughter and burning purple eyes._

_“Beware for purple eyes, if you see them, run.”_

_A large raven came out of nowhere, its laugher turning into words and its talons pulling chunks of light away from the space until nothing but a thick darkness stretched before him._

_“ **I see you Lightbringer. I see you clearer than ever before. You and I are connected now, I can feel your heart-beating, I can smell the blood in your veins. You’re impressive, taking on a guardian as you are, though I know you could be more, WILL be more very soon.”**  This voice was gravely and raw and it hurt his head to listen to it. _

_“Who are you?” he called but as soon as the words left his lips he was thrust backwards. His heart seemed as though it were in his mouth and all at once the darkness fell away, leaving his back in the church._

It took him a moment to fully realise where he was and what he had done but the screaming and the slippery liquid between his fingers told him enough. He had pulled the disk from ceras face, somehow, and had it protectively cradled to his chest. Cera was hissing and snarling and its grip of him loosened until it threw him down on the ground.

Hawk cried out as he smashed into the wood. Pain rattled in his lungs and his shoulder had gone back to full on agony. He had barely recovered before the serpent’s tail came smashing down above him, narrowly missing his head.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Cera screamed, its face now a patchwork of wounds.

Hawk grabbed a splintered bit of wood from the floor and scrambled to his feet. From the corner of his eye he could see a black shape heading towards the doors and after a moment of watching realised it was Ares.

“Keep her busy!” Ares shouted, his shadows pushing around him like a shield.

Hawk was trying to ignore the burning along his wrist but it was distracting, it hurt more than his broken shoulder and cracked rib. It was almost as though he had been bitten by the snake and her venom was slipping through his veins.

He couldn’t remember being bitten but as he glanced down at it, he found it to be smeared with dark blood. His time to think was cut short as he was knocked off his feet and pinned to the ground by the serpents barbed tail.  Hawk screamed as the spines dug into his skin, the poison thick as it dripped into the wounds.

“Hold on I’ve almost got it!” Ares words were muddled between pain and dizziness. There was a loud whispering in his ears and the venom from the snake’s fangs as the hovered over him burned against his bare chest.

_Kill her._

Hawk didn’t see the cat until it was stuck to the serpent’s face, his claws deep in the wounded sockets of its eyes. The snake roared and shook it’s head, it’s tail lifting just enough for Hawk to painfully crawl out from underneath.

“HAWK!” Ares shouted as he leaned against the door, “Help me with this.”

As he spoke a shadowy wolf brushed past him and made it’s way to the snake, sinking dark fangs into it’s scales. Hawk stumbled forward, he was dizzy and in agony and he wasn’t sure he could help Ares with what he wanted.

“I’ve got you.” Ares muttered as his shadows worked to keep him steady. “Get these open, okay? I know you’re hurting but I need you to focus.” His eyes were black and Hawk could have sworn he saw his third eye open, a large red eye watching him.

“Okay…” Hawk nodded, his hand barely managing to lift enough to press against the door.

Behind them the snake raged smashing more and more of the pews as it fought the two animals. Ares gave him one last concerned look before turning and dashing towards the serpent. Hawk leaned against the doors, his vision swimming before him. He couldn’t judge distance, he just about fell through the doors and into the sand, the only thing stopping him was the bit of wood he had in his hand that he used as a prop.

A loud rumble came from behind him, it was a metallic sound and when he looked over he shoulder he saw that Ares had been thrown into the organ, the pipes skewering his arms in place. The wolf and his cat were gone too but the snake, the snake was there and coming straight for him.

Hawk used the last of his strength to push forward into the sand, his legs burning with the strain and his heart banging against his ribcage. He was crawling by the time it got to him and he turned around to stare it in the face as it swallowed him.

Just as its jaws were about to snap closed over him a huge black wolf pounced onto the back of its head, taking the beast and crushing its skull between its jaws. It wrestled the snake away from him, snarling as the serpent still tried to wrap itself around it.

Hawks consciousness was slipping, the sky was so colourful, indigo and violet and comforting. He could sleep there he thought, sleep and let the pain fall from his body.

“Hawk.”

“Hawk you have to stay awake, just hold on until I get you back.”

He could feel something picking him up, it was sharp yet gentle but he wasn’t sure if it was real or part of the delusion his brain was supplying him with.

The last thing he saw as he slipped into unconsciousness was a brightly coloured ship in the distance, one that carried the sent of lilac on the breeze.

 


End file.
